Leon to Las Penitas

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This morning we made our second Central American George Bowls. They were fantastico! Perfect way to start the morning. I walked around this morning early & tried to find some coffee. Love my morning walks! I found some right next door but only after I'd already walked everywhere & was on my way back to the the hostel.

We packed up our life & stuck it all in a locker so we could go to the Fundacion Ortiz Museo (museum). It is a really beautiful museum in downtown Leon that takes up the corners of 2 large city blocks. The museum has current artists as well as ancient art from all over Central America. It was a nice change of pace from our usual touristy attractions. There were six cute little gardens throughout & beautiful chandeliers. Lot's of art depicting General Sandino during the revolution. Very interesting.

Back at Bigfoot we downloaded some more movies onto our computer from an Australian guy who had watched Anchorman with us & had a hard drive full of movies. Now we're set for entertainment. We got the first 4 seasons of Weeds. Should keep us busy for the rest of our trip. Speaking of which, we've decided to extend our trip until probably the end of May. We're going to Peru to see Machu Pichu we've decided. We're just too close to turn around now....

Then off to the bus terminal in a cab. Thank goodness we took a cab. The terminal was a long long way from where we are & it is, of course, swelteringly hot outside. The bus was waiting there when we arrived but we sat & sat for quite some time, sweating, until I couldn't take it any longer & had to get off the bus & walk around. When I came back to the bus, Geoff had met another couple, from Minnesota, & they had all decided to just take a cab to the beach rather than wait for the bus to depart. Ok then! We squeezed in the cab & headed to the beach & our first Central American visit to the Pacific Ocean.

We arrived in Las Penitas & I must have asked the cab driver about 3 times, "Are you sure we're in Las Penitas?". Finally, to illustrate how sure he was, he just got out of the cab & opened our door for us. Las Penitas is a really really really tiny little beach town. I think we were all expecting something with a little more to it. But, we walked around, talked with some locals, met a local guy who had lived in Renton for awhile (& he was super stoked to meet us "all the way from Seattle!"), & found ourselves at Hostel Oasis. Alida & Nic, from Minnesota (Alida does a really good accent, she says she sounds like her Grandma & I love it!), & we got situated in our rooms. Geoff & I promptly went swimming. The current here is supposed to be pretty strong & the waves are good for surfing. The waves are huge!!! So different than the Caribbean. The current is definitely strong too. Before we knew it we had been pulled over 200 yards down the beach from where we started. It was fun & a bit of work to swim in. It felt good because it's so hot! (My new favorite saying: It's so hot, how do these people function?). It's no surprise people in this part of the country aren't the smiliest, it's too hot. Being able to get in the water & cool off is far preferable to the concrete jungle. For sure.

Walking along the beach was beautiful. The town is bigger than it appears from the one road in. Everyone has their homes, restaurants, & hostels right on the beach. We watched the sunset on the beach & just soaked up the cool breeze. A couple of local boys sat with us & played tic/tac/toe in the sand with us while trying to sell us the usual assortment of trinkets.

Back at our hostel we ordered a grilled fish dinner to share & I had my first Nica Libre: rum, sprite & OJ. Pretty good. Not too long after we started eating a woman named Guadalupe, who we had seen on the bus before we switched to the cab in Leon, walked onto the deck & sat with us. She was selling cookies on the bus & still had her cookie bucket with her when she sat with us. Needless to say, this is when our dinner began to get interesting. I had an empty glass sitting on the table & she threw the straw over the deck & asked Geoff for some of his beer. He obliged. She chugged it & asked for it to be refilled. He did. I suggested to her that maybe she should savor this beer. She slowly chugged. Then our food arrived, one plate, that we were sharing. She asked our waiter for a beer of her own. He brought her one, then she just sat there & stared as we ate & kept saying (in Spanish) how good our fish looked. Then she told me she hadn't eaten since breakfast. I was feeling bad, but hungry too. It's really odd to have someone watch you eat, while they literally lick their lips & just stare at every bite you take. So finally, I gave her the fish head because she had just mentioned that was the best part (& since we're American & aren't used to eating that part of the fish anyway) & then the show changed. We were staring at her. I have never seen anyone eat a fish head the way she did. She just chomped right down & ate just about everything I handed her. Then I felt worse for her. After she drank more of our beer & we gave her the rest of the food on our plate, Nic & Alida showed up with beers. Guadalupe promptly asked for some of their beer. She finally left after telling us she was really drunk (Estoy bien boracho!) & after she finished Nic & Alida's dinner. It was really a unique dinner. I don't know how all the crazies find us but they always do.

After the show, we just sat on the deck & talked a lot & drank beer until we were ready for bed.

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Photos

Our 2nd George Bowl in Central America.
Even better than the first!